Posted on 03/14/2013 1:31:23 PM PDT by marshmallow
Pope Francis has warned the Catholic Church would become "a compassionate NGO" without spiritual renewal.
In a Sistine Chapel Mass with cardinals on his first day as Church leader, the pontiff said: "If we do not confess to Christ, what would we be?
"We would end up a compassionate NGO. What would happen would be like when children make sand castles and then it all falls down."
Francis is the first Latin American - and the first Jesuit - Pope.
The BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says the 76-year-old has already been swift to stamp his style on the papacy.
Pope Francis is regarded as a doctrinal conservative, but he is also seen as a potential force for reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, analysts say.
Shunned special car
On Wednesday night, Pope Francis endeared himself to the crowds in St Peter's Square - and underlined his reputation for humility - when he asked them to bless him before blessing them in return from the balcony of the basilica.
The Vatican's account of his first hours in the top job on Thursday also emphasised Pope Francis's humility, describing how he shunned a special car and security detail provided to take him to the Vatican, travelling instead on a bus with the other cardinals.
Following his first outing as pope to the Rome basilica on Thursday, Francis went back to the clergy house in a city centre side street where he had been staying ahead of the conclave that elected him on Wednesday.
"He packed his bags and then he went to pay the bill for his room so as to set a good example," said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.
He also broke tradition by remaining standing to receive cardinals' acts of homage after his election, instead of sitting in the papal......
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Traditionally the Jesuits were not like "Secret Agents," they were more like "Special Forces": they had (have) a special vow of loyalty to the Pope and would go anywhere, at a moment's notice, under any kind of dangerous conditions, to advance the mission which Christ gave to the Church.
Think of the Robert DieNiro and Jeremy Irons movie "The Mission." Those were Jesuits.
Following the formula "The corruption of the best, is the worst," some of the best and worst priests you'll find, are Jesuits.
They have history of high academic achievement and fast-track promotion of able leadership. I had an old pal who was a poor kid back East who applied to a Jesuit Prep School that had 1,500 applicants for 30 openings. He got in because he was super-bright and they gave him a full scholarship because he was super-poor. But he was constantly rubbing elbows with the sons of diplomats and the elites of 3 continents. He joined the Seminary and was ordained. Ended up requesting laicization after 30+ years as a priest, because he was scandalized by worldly Jesuits in high places.
I mention that story because it was typical of a certain generation.
The best of them are simply magnificent. They've got a whole regiment of heroic canonized saints, missionary-martyrs, scientists, men of devotion to God, brilliance and backbone.
The worst are intellectually overstuffed, known for their rebelliousness (the reverse of their special oath of loyalty), way, way over to the Left, proud as pit-hags, and --- 'nuff said.
♥Pope Francis is the good kind.♥
Sounds perfect!!
LOL! Oh my did you ever hit the nail on the head!
"No offense, but is anybody else concerned about him being a Jesuit?"
Only to the extent that it will encourage liars to continue to spew their lies about Catholics in general and Jesuits in particular. Lies that gullible saps swallow hook, line, and sinker, rather than bothering to find out the Truth and see that the true agenda of the anti-Catholic crowd is almost without fail just a veiled attempt to aid the expansion of the secular humanist anti-Christ society.
Why anyone who is actually a Christian be "concerned" over a Pope who right up front says we have to, "build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified.
The only people upset are the anti-Christ anti-Catholic fascists, anti-Christ anti-Catholic queers, and anti-Christ anti-Catholic liars who make a living off of the lies they tell about about the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Jesus Christ Himself founded.
No offense, just stating facts.
When one does not profess Jesus Christ - I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy – “Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.” When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil.
Silly. Everybody knows that's Opus Dei < /sarc>
Actually, the true meaning of "pitiful" is exactly that: full of pity, ie, compassionate.
The correct word for what most people mean when they say "pitiful" is "pitiable."
The Pope used an English acronym? What others does he us? SNAFU? LOL? WTF?
Mrs. Don-o,
Thank you for your well reasoned and informative response. I’ve never seen The Mission, but plan to soon.
He nailed it. That is what liberal Catholics want to make of the Church. What they don’t leave; they wanted to gain control of its assets to further their utopian dreams of heaven on earth.
I am fairly sure that the guys at Georgetown are not exactly thrilled. Francis can greet them and say, “I have understood you. “ He will not stand them up against a wall, but he is not their friend.
I saw this on AlJazeerah, and the reporter noted that the word he used for “compassionate” could also be translated as “pitiful”...
sounds like it came out more nuanced in Italian than the BBC would like to admit.
NGO = non-governmental organization; basically, a non-profit secular organization
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